


peach vodka

by chai_lattes



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Misunderstandings, sakura does not drink responsibly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_lattes/pseuds/chai_lattes
Summary: She had two more coherent thoughts that night before totally blacking out.One: She was in love with her best friend.Two: Peach vodka tasted so much worse on the way back up.





	peach vodka

**Author's Note:**

> this one goes out to my roommate thank you for inspiring it

Sakura had been to the apartment that Naruto shared with Shikamaru and Kiba plenty of times before, but filled with this many people it was almost unrecognizable. The roar of conversation almost totally covered up the blasting music, and every flat surface was topped with bottles, snacks, and discarded plastic cups.

“Really went all out for Tem’s birthday, huh?” Ino asked, coming up behind Sakura and leaning over her shoulder. The blonde was already swaying slightly, she teetered all the way up the stairs of the six floor walkup, partially due to the pregaming, but partially due to the shoes. Dangerous looking stilettos that let the already taller girl tower over Sakura. “Where’s everyone?”

“Probably upstairs.” Sakura answered, feeling herself get pulled along as Ino bobbed and weaved through the crowd on their way to the rickety metal staircase - more of a ladder than anything, that led to the rooftop. 

The apartment looked like it was packed with Temari’s friends, upperclassmen she knew that Sakura vaguely recognized from spotting Temari out on campus or between classes, but there was no sign of everyone. There was no real question to who “everyone” referred to - it meant their usual group of friends: Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, Hinata and Tenten, Choji and - only recently - Sasuke. 

She said recently, because up until now, Sasuke belonged in a very different group than “everyone”, he was a quick add on. Until very recently (three days ago, to be exact), Sasuke was something to put on a pedestal, something to be fought over, something they would tack on to the ends of their sentences to catch the other’s attention, that Ino was getting dinner with everyone  _ and Sasuke _ , or Sakura was going to a museum with Naruto, Shikamaru and Temari  _ oh, and Sasuke _ .  _ And Sasuke  _ was a point system, something they could throw in each others faces, a competition for them since high school. Until three days ago, when the two of them ended up crying on the floor of their dorm room, a bottle of rosé between them, vowing that no boy, especially  _ Sasuke _ , was worth coming in between their friendship. Three days ago, they entered their first, delicate truce. But tonight was the first time either of them would see  _ Sasuke _ again since they entered said truce.

“Keep up, forehead!” Ino called out behind her as she tugged Sakura up the staircase. Knowing what was waiting for them at the top, Sakura took another long gulp of her drink, the liquid sloshing over the sides and across her face with the motion, but the splash wasn’t enough to distract her from the warm feeling of Ino’s fingers around her wrist.

The main apartment may have been packed, but there was significantly more room to breathe on the rooftop. As soon as Ino pushed through the door, a chorus of  _ heys _ greeted them.

“Fashionably late?” Temari grinned at them, squished into a camping chair with Shikamaru. Her boyfriend nodded at them in greeting, but was flushed bright red at being practically crowded into her lap. “We were wondering when you two would show up.”

“Happy birthday, Tem.” Ino dropped Sakura’s hand and skipped away, running up to kiss Temari on the cheek before pulling up a chair and joining the circle. Sure enough, everyone  _ was  _ here. Except Kiba, but judging on the empty chair he probably ran down for more drinks slash try to flirt with Temari’s upperclassmen friends. Sakura pulled up a chair between Lee and Naruto, echoing Ino in wishing Temari a happy birthday, and elbowing Naruto off when he tackled her in a drunk hug. Everything but let her eyes slip to Ino across from her or Sasuke, in the seat next to Naruto, just let herself slip into the easy conversation of her friends gently bullying each other.

Or, not so gently in Naruto and Sasuke’s case.

“I said shut  _ up _ asshole!” Sasuke was shouting, barely audible over Naruto’s fit of laughter. “That’s  _ not _ true.”

“He just-” Naruto gasped for air. “Ate it! Just bit right into it! The whole orange! With the  _ peel _ -”

“ _ Shut up, loser. _ ”

Sakura threw back her cup, draining the last of her vodka. She could feel the burn down her throat (Kiba definitely didn’t put enough mixer in this, she could taste the pink lemonade flavor that the vodka was supposed to be. You weren’t supposed to actually taste the vodka flavor), but the high, crystalline sound of Ino’s laughter rang over everyone else’s.

Too high. Too attention grabbing. Sakura knew Ino enough to recognize her pretty laugh, not the ugly, snorting, honest laugh when they were watching vine compilations on Ino’s bed or trying to cook pancakes. Sakura knew Ino well enough to know that laugh was for someone.

“I’m not drunk enough for this.” Sasuke muttered, gazing sadly into the bottom of his plastic cup. From the corner of her eye, Sakura caught Ino straightening, ready to offer to grab him another drink, and her mouth moved before her brain could catch up. 

“I’ve got it.” Sakura said, standing up and swiftly snatching the cup from Sasuke’s hand. “I was going to get a refill anyways.”

She felt Ino’s eyes on her back as she made her way down the stairs, and she felt like she was on fire.

 

Sakura pushed past the throngs of people on her way to the stairs. It seemed like the party was in full swing now, and fighting her way up to the rooftop proved harder than earlier. She felt like she was walking through water as she climbed up the rickety stairs, her head thick with the fog of alcohol and the words “Oh Sasuke? Saw him go off with some blonde.”

She took another step up the ladder and lost her balance, her foot slipping off the edge of the step and she stumbled, drink sloshing down the front of her shirt. She was barely able to regain her balance and keep heading up the ladder, shaking off a hand behind her and some drunk girl asking  _ oh my god are you okay? _

Deep down she knew that she must be jealous. That had to be the only reason she felt like this, sick to her stomach with more than just what was shaping up to be alcohol poisoning at the thought of Ino and Sasuke...together. But now she wasn’t sure who she was jealous of after all. She probably should have said Ino, easily, but if she was being honest, Sakura couldn’t stand the thought of Ino picking Sasuke over her.

The rooftop was already more crowded than it was when she and Ino first arrived, and Sakura stumbled into the cold October air.

“Yo, Sakura.” Someone caught her arm and she turned around to see Tenten, Hinata behind her, unable to hide her concerned expression as well as Tenten. “Hey I think you’ve had enough. How about you let me take that-”

Tenten made a move to grab the plastic cup from Sakura’s outstretched hand, but Sakura quickly took one last, messy gulp before Tenten wrestled it from her hands. 

“Yeah, I think it’s time for you to slow down.” Tenten was saying, or at least Sakura  _ thought  _  she was saying, but she couldn’t focus on the older girl, busy scanning over her shoulder, eyes searching for a glimpse of pale blonde hair, afraid of what she might find. “Come on. Let’s go sit down. Hinata, could you get her some water? Hey,  _ Sakura _ -”

But it was too late, Sakura’s eyes caught on the familiar flip of a ponytail, swaying on her way over to her on high heels.

“Ino-”

“Hey, um, Sakura.” Hinata piped up, nervously. She tugged at the back of Sakura’s shirt, trying to catch her attention and turn back around. “You should really go sit down and drink something. Uh, something that’s not-”

“Sakura, hey!” Ino called out, her eyes shining. A few strands of fair hair had gotten loose from her ponytail and were floating around her face. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she watched Ino, smile stretched thin and nervous, lick her lips. “Where did you go? We should go dance-”

“Ino.” Sakura repeated, taking in Ino’s appearance and still hearing  _ Sasuke and some blonde _ . “Hinata told me you  _ bitch _ .”

“I didn’t say anything-”

Ino’s wide blue eyes flicked between Hinata and Sakura, probably trying to piece together what Sakura found out. Sakura vaguely registered Tenten and Lee trying to tug her away from Ino, and Kiba and Choji on the other side of Ino, trying to keep up with the fight. But all she could focus on was Ino, her cheeks were flushed pink from and she had the vacant smile on her face that she always wore when she was confused. Everyone else felt blurry, like they were just background pieces to her and Ino right now. And there was only one way to tell Ino everything she was feeling right now, everything she’d been feeling for the past few months, years, maybe forever.

So Sakura took a step forward towards Ino, reached out, and punched her.

Hard.

Across the face.

Ino stumbled backwards, colliding with Kiba and Choji. If everything felt frozen in time before, as soon as Sakura’s fist made contact with Ino’s jaw, the world resumed at full speed with full volume.

She could hear Tenten and Temari shouting, feel Lee pulling her back. All around them, the roof, which was packed to a dangerous capacity before, was rapidly emptying. Partygoers were fleeing the roof like rats off a sinking ship, but all Sakura could register was the look on Ino’s face.

“You chose  _ him _ ?” Sakura slurred loudly as Shikamaru and Choji pulled Ino away, Ino, who was still cradling her cheek and staring at Sakura with an empty, slack jawed, look of shock. “Over  _ us _ ? Over _ me _ ?”

“Come on, Sakura.” Tenten said, grabbing her other arm. She and Lee marched Sakura across the roof towards the stairs, Hinata following behind, unsure of what to do besides keep a calming hand rubbing circles on her back. “Let’s get you out of here, okay? Where the fuck is Naruto-”

“Tenten?” Lee?” Sakura mumbled, and they peered down at her. “I don’t feel so good.”

The color drained from both of their faces, and they practically sprinted down the stairs, Lee scooping her up to carry her and Tenten and Hinata shouting at people to get out of the way. 

“Where’s the closest bathroom?” Lee asked.

“It’s in Naruto’s room.” Sakura groaned, waving an arm in the general direction. “I can walk.”

“Sakura-”

“Lee, I’ll puke on you.”

Reluctantly, he set her down, and Sakura lurched towards Naruto’s room. Lee, Tenten, and Hinata followed close behind, catching her when she stumbled every couple of steps until she reached the door. She fumbled with the knob for a second until she managed to open it, falling in as it opened.

The two boys broke apart a split second after Sakura walked in, but not fast enough that she didn’t see, but even then, it was obvious what the two were doing.

Sasuke was in Naruto’s lap, Naruto’s hands tight on his hips. The two of them were bright red and frozen in place. Naruto staring at Sakura, stammering out an excuse, and Sasuke staring at the ground, not able to meet anyone’s eyes.

“This. Uh. Isn’t what it looks like?” Naruto stammered.

Of course.

_ Naruto _ was the blonde.

She was such an idiot.

“Sakura?”

Sakura doubled over and threw up on the floor, narrowly missing a pile of clothes Naruto had left lying around.

She had two more coherent thoughts that night before totally blacking out.

One: She was in love with her best friend.

Two: Peach vodka tasted so much worse on the way back up.

Sunlight streaming through her window beat behind her eyes, and Sakura groaned. She rolled over and squinted at her surroundings. Sure enough, somehow, she managed to get back to her own bed last night, she vaguely remembered leaning on Tenten while Hinata hailed a cab, and Lee placing a trash can next to her bed in case she threw up again.

Oh  _ god _ . She threw up, and that wasn’t even the worst thing that happened. She could feel the corner of her phone digging into her cheek, and she  _ dreaded _ checking it, seeing all the damage control she probably had to do from last night. 

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut again. Yup. This was it. She had singlehandedly -  _ literally _ \- destroyed the friend group.  _ Sakura _ . Which was crazy, because they all expected Sasuke to be the emotional time bomb that eventually destroyed them all. But she couldn’t even bring herself to worry too much about that, because that was  _ nothing _ compared to  _ Ino _ .

She was so stupid. She was so fucking  _ stupid _ . If only she actually trusted Ino then none of this would have happened. But because of her and her  _ stupid _ jealousy, Ino was never going to speak to her again. She was going to request a room change and Sakura ruined everything-

“Hey. You’re up.”

Sakura finally sat up, letting the blankets pool around her waist, to see Ino, already up and watching her.

“Ino.” Sakura croaked. God, her throat was so dry. “Ino, I’m-”

Ino shook her head and rolled off her bed. She was still in her outfit from last night, makeup smudged and ponytail barely holding any of her hair out of her face anymore, but wrapped in a blanket, she crossed the room and climbed into Sakura’s bed.

Neither of them broke the silence yet, Sakura was afraid she was going to ruin everything again, but silently, she wrapped her arms around the taller girl, feeling Ino bury her head into the space between her neck and shoulder. 

If Ino was anywhere as tired as Sakura was, they were both exhausted, but neither of them could fall back asleep. They just lay there quietly, staring at the ceiling, until Ino finally spoke up.

“You’re really stupid, you know that?”

“I’m-” Sakura started to argue, but Ino just looked over and raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay. Maybe a little stupid.”

“Aren’t you gonna say anything else?” Ino looked at her expectantly and Sakura squirmed. There was a lot she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how much she could. After all, she was already on thin ice, Ino probably barely wanted to be her friend after that. Let alone…

“I’m sorry for punching you.” Sakura said, and Ino snorted.

“Come on. We did worse in high school, didn’t we?”

Sakura had to giggle at that, and soon enough she and Ino were both laughing (Ino was laughing her real, honest, ugly laugh that Sakura loved) until they both had tears in their eyes.

“Oh my god. Ino, I  _ punched _ you. Over  _ Sasuke.”  _ Sakura groaned, curling into Ino’s side. “ _ Sasuke _ .”

“Yeah, but,” Ino said, laughter subsiding. “Was it really?”

“Was what?”

“The fight.” She sounded breezy, but she couldn’t quite meet Sakura’s eyes. “Was it really about Sasuke. Or was it about...you know. Us.”

“Us?” Sakura parroted. Her heart was hammering in her chest now, and Ino was so close, she could probably hear it now. 

“Yeah.” Ino smiled a small, nervous smile. “I mean. You did say that, didn’t you?”

_ Had she _ ? Last night was such a blur, she could only clearly remember slapping Ino, walking in on Naruto fucking Sasuke, and throwing up on the floor. 

Sakura raised herself up on one arm, looking down at Ino. She’d pulled out her hair tie at some point during their conversation, and now her blonde hair was fanned out around her face in a pale halo. Her eyeliner was smudged all over her eyelids, and the faint memory of lipstick still clung to her mouth. She was a mess. She was the prettiest thing Sakura had ever seen.

“I’m….uh. I might be…” Every bone in her body was telling her to keep bottling it up. She and Ino had been friends for so long. Every sleepover, every brush of hands or careless arm around her shoulders, she lived with that as strictly platonic for so long, why did that need to change. But Sakura swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. She might have been stupid, but she wasn’t a coward. “I uh. In love you.”

“You in love me?”

“ _ I’m in love with you _ .”

Sakura kept her eyes screwed tight and tried to pull back, to remove the contact of her skin on Ino’s, but to her surprise, Ino just tangled their legs together and brought up a hand to cradle Sakura’s cheek.

“Good.”

Sakura opened her eyes and looked down at her best friend. Ino was smiling, but her eyes were starting to brim with tears. 

“Ino-”

“Good.” Ino continued. “Because so am I. God, Sakura I - it’s been like, forever.”

Sakura couldn’t think anymore. As soon as Ino said  _ so am I _ , her brain short circuited and all she could do was stare down at Ino, holding back until she’d finished talking before crashing her lips against Ino’s, capturing her in a clumsy, enthusiastic kiss.

Ino let out a tiny noise of surprise before melting into the kiss. She brought her arms up and wound them around Sakura’s neck, pulling her in even closer.

“Wow,” Ino gasped when they finally broke for air. “This is a relief. If you were like,  _ actually _ into  _ Sasuke _ I’d have to rethink my taste in women. Because yikes.”

**Author's Note:**

> FUN FACT THAT I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW AFTER YOU READ THIS: this is based on a true story i did this to my best friend sophomore year, i hit her over a boy neither of us liked then we both came out as lesbians. she texted me a couple weeks ago that it should be a sakuino au and it made SO much sense i had to write it.


End file.
